Hall of Fame Update

Inducted 1978 Wisconsin Born in 1899, Bruno Jacob attended Ripon College, a small liberal arts college in Wisconsin. At orientation, several members of the Pi Kappa Delta Chapter declared, “Frosh, you will debate!” From that odd meeting, an interest, a career, and a life was built. Bruno thrived as a debater. One man who saw Bruno debate described him as a classic debater, one who knew the rules of debate and was well researched. But 1920s college debate was largely audience debate. Large crowds packed auditoriums to hear the clash of collegiate rivals; oratory and persuasion were the key to winning the audience. The motto of Pi Kappa Delta was, “The art of persuasion, beautiful and just.” Mr. Jacob was a persuasive speaker, as his later speeches would prove. While in college, he compiled a handbook, Suggestions for the Debater, which was nationally circulated and very popular. Bruno graduated in 1922 and coached debate at Chippewa Falls High School (WI) for two years before he returned to Ripon College to teach Speech. He was also PKD Chapter Business Manager. In 1924, a letter was sent to the Ripon College PKD Chapter by coach Ray Cecil Carter at Albany High School (NY), asking if PKD allowed high school debaters to become members. Mr. Jacob had earlier considered forming a society for Wisconsin high school debaters. He answered, “As far as we know there is at present no organization for high school debaters… If we felt that there was a real and sufficient interest among high school students and coaches, we would, I am sure, be willing to go to considerable effort to sponsor such an enterprise.” A survey was taken; 24 schools professed interest. A constitution was adopted, a key designed, and the National Forensic League was born. Mr. Jacob’s concept of the new NFL was a mirror image of his collegiate forensic society: an elite group of talented, interested, and competitive members. Debate would be the main focus; other public speaking activities, secondary; interpretation events, tertiary. Competitive speaking would be awarded higher credit points than non-competitive, original speeches more points than memorized. Most important, the NFL point system, brilliantly conceived by Bruno, was aspirational as well as competitive. It made every competitor a winner. Even if a student won no trophy or medal, points could be won at every interscholastic contest. A debate win earned more than a loss; a higher rank in a speech round earned more than a lower rank. At least ten points were required in competition; but other points could be earned speaking to adult groups. When a student achieved 25 points, they were eligible for membership. To Mr. Jacob, winning the National Tournament was not the most important prize. Most important was gaining NFL membership. Even if one never won a contest, one could win membership in an elite national society. By 1930, the NFL was not the only national organization supporting high school debate. The National University Extension Association (NUEA) also favored a national debate event and a single yearly topic. Mr. Jacob made an agreement with the NUEA. They would select the national debate topic and provide content materials to the debaters. The NFL would conduct a national tournament. Bruno wanted the NFL to host a national tournament, just as Pi Kappa Delta did. He realized that a tournament was critical to motivate members and improve secondary school speech education. In 1950, Mr. Jacob wrote:

“Although tournament winners are appropriately acknowledged, the selection of national champions has never been the primary purpose of the National Tournament. Two other motives dominated. First, to provide a compelling incentive for students to undertake the arduous efforts necessary to acquire a high degree of skill in public speaking. Second, to establish a demonstration laboratory where the best in current high school speaking could be observed by students and teachers from every section of the country, for the improvement of the speech techniques in their own areas.”

The first NFL Nationals was held in May of 1931 at Ripon College. In all, 49 schools from 17 states attended, with 138 students competing in Debate, Extempore Speaking, Oratory, Oratorical Declamation, Dramatic Declamation, and Humorous Declamation. A total of 53 coaches were present. The New York Times covered the tournament with a front page article. Bruno Jacob struggled to keep the League alive during America’s Great Depression. “Our printer agreed that if we kept our debt under $1,000 dollars at the end of each year, he would continue to print,” recalled Bruno years later. In 1934, Mr. Jacob moved the NFL to Denver for two years, where he completed his Master’s degree. While on a camping trip with the President of Tau Kappa Alpha, a collegiate forensic society, Bruno persuaded him that TKA should sponsor a trophy (now the Pi Kappa Delta/Bruno E. Jacob trophy) to reward the school that had accumulated the most rounds of competition at the National Tournament. Mr. Jacob often said, “Contestants should be eliminated as quickly and fairly as possible.” Donus Roberts, who attended more than 50 Nationals, and served as an ombudsman at several, remembers, “More than anything Bruno stood for honesty, integrity, and character.” Over the years, Mr. Jacob would allow no taint of favoritism by tournament officials. Hall of Fame Vice President Vernon Metz recalled that Bruno admonished a famous debate coach for attempting to influence judges. Past President James Hawker tracked speech round speaking positions assigned by a famous coach and found that the coaches’ own entries always were placed in favorable positions. When shown the evidence, Bruno never again asked that coach to tab. When the state of Kansas would not allow Kansas students to attend Nationals, Mr. Jacob hired Kansas coaches to run the tab room. They were absolutely neutral. Mr. Jacob would do anything to protect the NFL’s reputation for fairness. In 1936, the sixth National Tournament was hosted by Classen High School in Oklahoma City, OK. The tournament hosted 365 students. One was an African American, Caleb Thompson, from Peekskill High School (NY). It is unclear whether he was the first African American entry at Nationals, but certainly the first to compete where Nationals was held in a state which forbade, by law, the mixing of the races in high school competitions. The tournament host, Hall of Fame coach C. E. “Pop” Grady, faced a dilemma: Oklahoma City schools were segregated by law. But Caleb was an official entry, having won the New York State District. Under NFL rules, he had the right to compete. Grady’s solution: Thompson could compete, but at Douglas, the African American school, not at Classen. Thompson was entered in Dramatic Declamation. The three judges each round would judge the White contestants at Classen and then be driven to Douglas to judge Thompson. An editor of the local African American newspaper protested the arrangement. The student said he would rather withdraw than be segregated. Mr. Jacob’s policy was that the local host arranged local events, but the National Forensic League ran the tournament. Mr. Jacob was firm. Thompson would compete at Classen. Thompson did, and won the event. In 1938, Mr. Jacob convened the first National Student Congress. It was well received and became a regular event. The League’s motto was, “Training Youth for Leadership” and youth congresses were ideal learning laboratories. The 1941 National Tournament featured a speech contest entitled “Americanism.” Six months later America entered World War II. No tournaments were held during the war years. The National Congress convened in 1942 (praised in a letter from President Roosevelt), 1943, and 1944. Students could earn points by community and patriotic speaking. In 1945, there were four regional contests in Extempore, and a national final at Northwestern University. In 1946, Extempore, Oratory, Oratorical, Dramatic, and Humorous regional contests were held; finals were held at Northwestern again. No debate was allowed. After the war, some academics felt debate had become too competitive; students should be taught cooperative methods of problem solving. The National Association of Secondary School Principals Contest and Activities Committee effectively ended debate at the National Tournament by ruling “approval was not accorded any contest involving interstate travel of more than one student from any state.” Thus, two-person debate was eliminated! Mr. Jacob, a former debater, a man devoted to debate, did not give up. Working with Professor Karl Robinson of Northwestern University, he successfully persuaded the NASSP Committee about the academic values of debate. Debate returned at the 1950 Nationals. But victory came at a cost. To make room for the return of Debate, Oratorical and Humorous Declamation were dropped from the tournament. (Humorous returned in 1977.) In the post-war years, Mr. Jacob worked tirelessly to build the League. He traveled more than 20,000 miles each year, mostly by car, to award plaques, visit tournaments, and convince schools about the benefits of joining the League. Hall of Fame Coach Arlene Akerman recalls, “I was so impressed that Bruno came to Fairmont-East [OH] to present our NFL Charter. The administration was also impressed. Bruno had a persuasive power that was outstanding.” Always organized, Bruno had several kinds of speeches prepared for his high school appearances. Depending on the time and place allowed by the local principal, the speeches ranged from a two-minute announcement over the school PA system, to longer and different speeches for an after-school meeting of the speech club, an all-school assembly, and a pep rally! By 1950 his NFL work was so time consuming, Professor Jacob resigned his teaching position at Ripon College to administer the League full time. In 1950, the NFL published an elegant book which chronicled the first quarter century. The past was ornately celebrated, but the best was yet to come! The Depression, WWII travel restrictions, and the decision of the NASSP to eliminate debate had taken its toll on the NFL. Chapters numbered 480 in 1938 and only 532 a dozen years later. The 122 qualifiers at the 1950 National Tournament was 16 fewer than the first Nationals, and only one-third of the 365 entries in 1936. But there were a large and growing number of affiliate schools, waiting for a Charter. The coming post-war baby boom would produce more and more students and schools. Bruno Jacob and the NFL had powerful friends. NFL member number one, Karl Mundt, was now a Senator; Bruno stood on the rear portico of the White House to confer NFL membership on former Texas debate coach President Lyndon Johnson. Bruno worked with Network radio stars like Ted Malone. After the 1939 Beverly Hills Nationals, Hollywood personalities became NFL supporters. In 1957, the Congress of the United States decreed that the Bicentennial of the Birth of Alexander Hamilton would be celebrated with a student Constitutional Convention of State and Territorial Speech Champions. Bruno Jacob, his son Richard, and the NFL staff were selected to manage the event in Congress Hall, part of the Independence Hall Memorial in Philadelphia. Bruno continued his peripatetic travel schedule. He preferred to drive on scenic byways, rather than interstate highways, so he could visit as much of the country as possible. He devised the hobby of visiting every county seat in America and sending himself a postcard from each one. Donus Roberts recalls that Mr. Jacob visited a forensic event in Watertown, SD and was delighted to visit one of the finest county courthouses in the USA. Bruno’s younger son, Richard, confirms that indeed “[Bruno] did complete the task of visiting every one (of more than 3,100) U.S. county seats, including Alaska and Hawaii… Some counties changed the location of their county seat, and he actually made subsequent trips to pick up the new location.” Mr. Jacob was quite irritated when the U.S. Postal Service began using generic postmarks on mail, instead of the postmark of the town sending it. He would return the postcard without the local cancellation to the town postmaster, to be hand canceled with the local postmark. Bruno faced financial problems at the 1963 National Tournament at Rice University in Houston. Wealthy Oveta Culp Hobby, publisher of the Houston Post, had pledged the money to support the tournament, but at the last minute withdrew her offer. Bruno was very reluctant about seeking or accepting sponsors. But at the 1968 Macalester College Nationals in Minnesota, the Reader’s Digest Foundation sponsored the tournament and more. They took the winners on a tour of Europe! Lila and DeWitt Wallace, owners of Reader’s Digest, were supporters of Macalester College. Mr. Jacob became good friends with the Wallaces and often visited their home in Pleasantville, NY. Their foundations offered to sponsor the National Tournament every year. At that time, the Digest, with the largest circulation of any magazine in the world, was hugely profitable and the Foundation was well funded. One board member was Melvin Laird, former Wisconsin Congressman, and friend of Bruno and NFL President Senator Karl Mundt. Alas, the sponsorship lasted only three years. Mr. Jacob’s successor refused to fly or drive yearly to Pleasantville, which was necessary to retain this valuable sponsorship. Bruno Jacob was the most modest of men. When asked to provide material for an article about himself, he always replied, “Make it short, very short.” He kept his salary low and NFL expenses low. Executive Councils often offered to raise his salary, but he declined. When traveling, Bruno usually stayed in private homes of NFL coaches, and was treated like an honored guest. Mr. Jacob was 70 years old in 1969. His retirement was poignant. Mr. Jacob always hoped one of his sons would succeed him; they each had worked at Nationals. But both his sons wished to pursue other careers. Robert, the eldest, received his degree in Physics and worked at Livermore Labs on Atomic Energy projects. He would later earn an MBA and work for IBM. The younger son, Richard, would earn a Ph.D. in Physics and teach Physics and Computer Science at three colleges. Bruno retired with great fanfare and honor. He was presented a new car and a trip around the world. His Speech of Farewell, quoted in part in the Hall of Fame Essay, had people in tears. The tournament was in Washington, D.C., where Senator Mundt and many prominent NFL alumni appeared. Bruno seemed happy as Secretary-Emeritus. He came to the office every day as he had for years: helping to record points, audit district tournament results, and help plan the National Tournament. Ripon College needed space in Middle Hall and the NFL had to move. The Council sent Mr. Jacob to California and elsewhere to raise money from alumni and friends to purchase a headquarters. Bruno Jacob was a brilliant man. Although born in the 19th century, he had the mind and vision of a 21st century entrepreneur. He seized on an idea and built a thing of value that still serves thousands of students almost a century later. And the students always appreciated what Bruno built for them. The great Illinois debate coach George Stege remembers: “Mr. Jacob came to Glenbrook South High School to give a Leading Chapter Award at a morning pep assembly. After the athletic introductions and cheers, Bruno delivered a dynamic speech about the success of the NFL Chapter and presented the award to the principal. A student in the audience yelled, ‘Three cheers for Bruno!’ The audience erupted with cheers!” National champion coach David Johnson concludes, “Thinking of Bruno reminds me of ‘Mr. Chips’—he is really that modest man, who works tirelessly because he believes in the next generation…. The song they sing after Chips has died ends, ‘was I brave enough and true?’” Bruno Jacob was brave enough and true enough to give his life to the NFL, and ask little in return. — Compiled by James Copeland

Inducted 1978 California The most successful and powerful woman in high school speech activities in the 20th century was Carmendale Fernandes of California. As a young college student, she changed her major from music to speech, seeing more opportunities for women in that field. From her first day as coach at Sunnyvale-Fremont (CA), Ms. Fernandes was a leader. She served as President of the California High School Speech Association (CHSSA) and thereafter was the administrator representative on the Council. For years she coordinated the logistics for Council meetings and the State Tournament. Regionally, she was the first high school teacher to serve as President of the academic Western Speech Association (WSA). She served on the Speech Communication Association (SCA) Council, the Planning Committee of the Bicentennial Youth Debates, sponsored by the National Association for the Humanities, and coordinator of Youth Activities for the American Forensic Association (AFA). She made her greatest contributions to the National Forensic League. As Councilor and the first female vice president and president, she served as a role model for others. Carm hosted the outstanding San Jose Nationals in 1990 and helped plan many others. Carmendale coached a national champion and two runners-up in Girls’ Extemp, a runner-up in Boys’ Extemp, a third place finisher in Oratory, a semifinalist CX Debate team. Her team won the Tau Kappa Alpha (now the Pi Kappa Delta/Bruno E. Jacob) Trophy. The NFL honored her with five diamond awards, and a Distinguished Service Key and Plaque. She was the only woman selected by Bruno Jacob to the first class of the NFL Hall of Fame. She was always a leader; President Billy Tate called her “Our Carm.” The NFL was so fortunate she was “ours.” — Compiled by James Copeland

Inducted 1978 Illinois Perhaps the best coach in the founding class of our Hall of Fame is the least known. NFL founder Bruno E. Jacob was deeply impressed by Paul’s remarkable record when he wrote his reasons for choosing Paul as one of the coaches nominated to the first Hall class: “Coached 25 students to the national finals in 14 National Tournaments. Won four National Championships. Won the Tau Kappa Alpha (now Pi Kappa Delta/Bruno E. Jacob) Trophy twice. Earned the Diamond Key. All this in only 14 years.” Paul’s students placed first in Debate (1936), Extempore (1937), Oratory (1941), and Drama (1946) at the National Tournament. Moreover, three students finished second and nine students took third place. A 2009 issue of the DuQuoin Evening Call featured a series of articles recounting the history of DuQuoin High School football, which contained this interesting remembrance from the 1940 season: “R. Paul Hibbs…doubled as backfield coach, in addition to being the nation’s most successful speech coach.” Paul Hibbs’ later career included serving as principal at the high school and as associate professor of speech at Southern Illinois University, where the R. Paul Hibbs Award is still given by the speech department today. Paul also went on to direct community theater. A small school in a small town in the “Little Egypt” section of Southern Illinois, whose speech coach also coached football, compiled the greatest record in national speech competition of the pre-war era. — Compiled by James Copeland

Inducted 1978 Pennsylvania Vernon Metz was a complex man. He rendered great service to the NFL early on and rose to the vice presidency of the League. Mr. Metz was the long serving district chair in Pittsburgh from 1957 to 1975. He won three Gold Awards, the highest honor for a district chair. He was elected to the NFL Executive Council in 1962 and became vice president of the NFL in 1973. In those times the highest vote getter each two years became president of the NFL, second highest, vice president. Years later, the Council election was changed to staggered four-year terms, with the Council itself electing the officers. Vernon coached at North Hills High School and his chapter was one of the most successful in the nation. His chapter was the largest in Pittsburgh 16 times, they led the district in new members 14 times, and they placed in a national top ten category ten times. North Hills received four Leading Chapter Awards and won the District Tournament Trophy four times. Thirty students qualified to the National Tournament and six to the National Congress. But his friend Bro. René Sterner noted, “Vernon could be very Machiavellian.” Metz aspired to be NFL president, with his former student, Ken Werner, NFL secretary. In 1975, Vernon moved to have Secretary Tucker replaced with Mr. Werner. The motion failed. The election of Dennis Winfield as NFL president in 1976, and Mr. Metz’ defeat in the Council election in 1980, ended his presidential hopes. Metz became a high school administrator and later taught at Pennsylvania State University. — Compiled by James Copeland